Though You May Have Broken Your Vows

I hopethemusictodayhasbeensoothing,givingyou afeelingofrelaxation,ease orevenhealing,sincethere is somuchin lifethat can setour nerves onedgeandcauseus division anddisruption.Weall needsomesortofhealing, and return to wholeness.Along these lines, ontheeveofYom Kippur,perhaps youwere intrigued by the National Public Radio story aboutthee-scapegoat.Createdbyan organizationwhosegoal is tocommunicatebasicJudaism,thegoatâ€™swebsiteisescgoat.com.That isâ€˜escâ€™theabbreviationofâ€˜escapeâ€™on computerkeyboards,and â€˜goat,â€™all one word, dot com.

ModernAmericanculturehasalso emphasizedforgiveness.EveryonefromOprah totheMayoClinicwebsitewill tellyou to letgo, to notkeepgrudges,andtoforgive, all becauseit isgoodfor you, it helps reduce blood pressure and improve the immune system. Forgiveness isa cancelingof a debtsomeoneowesyou.It is letting goof a grudge or asensethatsomeonehastaken something from you.Giving forgiveness is important.Itis verypowerful. But today is not about forgiving as being forgiven.

Thepoint I make todayis that, as we work to repair the world, seeking forgiveness is notthesameasseekingatonement.Today,I want to emphasizethat atonement is a processwhichrequiresmuch morethanagoatgettinglost inthewilderness.Atonement requiresregret,repentance,repair,andreconciliation.

I like to saythatthereis onequestionatheart,of eachreligion.ForJudaismit is â€œWhatdoesTheLord require?â€In Christianityit is â€œWhat is requiredfor salvation?â€Todayourquestion is â€œWhat is requiredforatonement?â€I amnottalkingaboutanything thatshouldbeforcedon youbyothers. Atonement is something youmustdoofyourownwill andoutofyourowndesirefor reconciliation.

I rememberin myfirst year in seminary,studying fortheministry, we had discussionin which we weresupposedtospeakaboutsomeregretwehad.ButI, ahappytwenty-something youngman, felt I hadnoregrets.EvenifIhadmade a baddecision, Ifelt it wasthebestdecisionI couldhavemadeatthetimeand that I shouldacceptmychoice andtheconsequences.I hadno regrets.

Since thenI havelived longenough to have gatheredsomeregrets.Thereareseveral things I havedoneor said that I knowcaused harmandI sincerelywish I could takethem backor healthedamageI caused.So,thefirststep inhealingis to expressregret.

Lastnight mywifeandI went toseethemovie,â€œBlue Jasmineâ€.Themovie depictsagroupofpeople;noneof them are willingto acknowledge theharm theyhavecaused.Themain characterkeepsjustifying her actions.Shewasinvolved in her sister losing $200,000, but shekeepssaying that shewasonlyâ€œtryingto helpthemget in onagood deal.â€But shenevershows real regret for thefactthat thegooddealwas in fact ascam.Shenevershows regret for theharm and loss shecaused.Sheadmitsthingswentbadly, but believesit was notherfault becauseshewastrying to help.

And thenthere is thestoryof theRabbi who was sick of allthefastingand seriousnessanddeprivationofYomKippur.OnoneverylovelySaturdayhe decides togogolfing, instead avoidingall work (which includes golfing). The weather is toogoodnot to enjoyit, he thinkstohimself.He chooses a coursewhere he will surelynotmeetanyonehemightknow.As he is out on the links,anangel inthedivinecourt seeshim andrushestoGod.

Yes,sometimesweregretwhatwe do andwe want torepairtherelationship orpersonwehave hurt.TheBiblical Psalmist, speaking to God (Ps.51:16-17) putit this way: â€œYou do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifice of God is a broken sprit. A broken and contrite heart you, O God, will not despiseâ€

So this leadsus torepentance.Thewordliterallymeans toturnaround,toturnawayfrom onething towardanother to â€˜cast something behind our backs and be removed from them as far as possibleâ€™.Repentancemeanschanging your actions.It will nothelp to admitthatstealing apples is wrongandcausesharm,if yougoaheadandstealmoreapples.Trueregretshouldleadusautomaticallyto repentofthataction.If getting drunk causesus to behavebadlythen we must simplystop drinking.

Thetendays leading up to YomKippurareknown as theTen Days ofRepentance. Duringthis periodJews are encouragedto seekoutanyonetheymayhaveoffendedandtosincerelyrequestforgiveness so thattheNewYear canbeginwith aclean slate.Theprocessofrepentance is calledteshuvahand it isa crucial partofYomKippur.

There areseveralstagesofteshuvah, including the sinnerrecognizing his or herwrongs, feelingsincereremorseanddoing everything in theirpower to undoanydamagethathasbeendone.If a specificpersonhasbeenwronged the offendermustask thatperson forforgiveness.Thefinal stageofteshuvah is resolving to never commitsuch asin again. Thetheologicalnotion behind repairis that yourtrespassesare not just against other people but againstGod,soyouowe God something.

Note that third step in teshuvah, undoing the damage that has been done.The Twelve steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, also contain seeking to make amends as part of recovery. But then, somewounds are beyond direct repair. Murder,publicfraudor thievery, and public defaming ofanotherpersonare all differentbecausethevictims are unreachable or notable tobecounted.In todayâ€™s story, Mr.Peabody'sApples (spoken version available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9p4oM5lqq4). It was all but impossible for Tommy to undo the damage from repeatedly (and wrongly) telling others that Mr. Peabody was a thief.In that situation, repair can be very complicated, and ultimately impossible.So the goal of repair is to do what you can within your power, and then let grace, the unearned source of healing, do the rest.Likewise in South Africa Nelson Madela led them not to seek retribution, but truth and reconciliation.They realized that retribution, criminal trials and all, would not have brought healing, only more harm.

The larger goal of Reconciliation is to reweave the social fabric, to restore the great community evoked by prophets and visionaries.It is a community not only of peace but also reconciliation, not only of truth and justice, but also compassion and understanding.As the Sufi poet Rumi wrote: â€œCome,come,whoeveryouare.Wanderer,idolater,worshipperoffire, comeeventhoughyouhavebrokenyourvowsathousandtimes,Come,andcomeyetagain.Ours,isnotacaravanofdespair.â€ (MuslimNarrativesandtheDiscourseofEnglish(2004)byAminMalak). Inspired by this poem the Unitarian Universalist Minister, ReverendLeslie Takahashi-Morris, wrote these words: